Review: ‘Amelia’ Fails to Take Flight

There are certain mysteries that place a stronghold on the world’s imagination. The existence (or lack thereof) of the Bermuda Triangle, Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and UFOs are primary among these questions, inducing shivers in those who would like to speculate about the possibility of strange life forms on our fair planet.

And then there is a different sort of mystery, one in which we know someone really existed and then suddenly, simply disappeared without a trace. The famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart was one of those people, the first woman to fly across an ocean who went on to attempt being the first woman to fly around the earth when her plane encountered a series of problems and likely – but not definitively – crashed, with her never to be found again. (more…)

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Tags: "Amelia", Hilary Swank, Mira Nair, review, Richard Gere
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 5:05 am in Featured Story, Reviews | 2498989 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/10/23/review-amelia-fails-to-take-flight/Review%3A+%27Amelia%27+Fails+to+Take+Flight2009-10-23+12%3A05%3A30Carl+Kozlowski

Fox’s ‘Glee’ Mocks Political Correctness

As overly serious police procedurals have begun to saturate the primetime network TV schedules, the FOX network has quietly but wisely been exploring alternatives. Introduced a few years ago, the highly popular House varied the formula by moving it to a medical setting, and last year Fringe interestingly revived the delight in adventure characteristic of mid-1960s network TV dramas. 

The new drama Glee (Wednesdays, 9 p.m EDT) represents another approach and a bolder break with current trends–and it may point the way toward a welcome increase in variety among network TV dramas. 

Produced by Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck), Glee tells the story of high school teacher Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) a married high school teacher in his thirties, who wants to restore McKinley High School’s glee club to its former glory, achieved when he was a member during his high school years and the club won the nationals.  (more…)

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Tags: "Glee", fox, political correctness, review
Posted Sep 29th 2009 at 8:47 am in Reviews | 23213049 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/stkarnick/2009/09/29/foxs-glee-mocks-political-correctness/Fox%27s+%27Glee%27+Mocks+Political+Correctness2009-09-29+15%3A47%3A27S.T.+Karnick

‘Funny People’ Review: Mostly Funny

As one of America’s most popular comedians, George Simmons seemingly has the world on a string. But then one thing happens that can ruin everything: he’s diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and told that even with aggressive experimental treatments, he only has an eight percent chance of survival. 

That happy-sad dichotomy is at the heart of the new film “Funny People,” in which Adam Sandler plays Simmons in a terrific performance that no doubt draws on his own experiences as a wildly successful comedy star. As written and directed by Judd Apatow in his third film, following “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up,” the movie has an intimate awareness of the pain that often lies behind the laughter generated by our modern court jesters.  (more…)

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Tags: "Funny People" Seth Rogen, "Punchline", adam sandler, judd apatow, review
Posted Aug 1st 2009 at 11:02 am in Reviews | 19595019 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/ckozlowski/2009/08/01/funny-people-review-mostly-funny/%27Funny+People%27+Review%3A+Mostly+Funny2009-08-01+18%3A02%3A11Carl+Kozlowski

Review: ‘Star Trek’ is Slick Fun – Nothing Wrong With That

Every action picture is a science-fiction picture anymore. How else to explain Hero Survival In A Hail of Bullets, Inexhaustible Supply Of Energy In A Street Fight, and the Amazing Car That Still Operates After Driving Off A Building? Star Trek is not an exploration of an alternative physics or the ramifications of technology that’s possible only after the intractable engineering problems have been solved. Star Trek is an action picture set in space. It’s good fun, it’s exciting and engaging, it nods to a few perpetual icons of pop culture, and it’s even suitable for families. What’s not to like?

The most notable achievement here is the extraction of the franchise from fanboy fever swamps into mega-mainstream entertainment. The first three or four Star Trek movies were events with fanfare and media pomp, but after that they diminished into little more than baubled-up TV episodes for fans. You had to know not only the characters but also the Star Trek “universe” to really care about what was going on and why. But this picture works for anybody who even stumbles into it: Kirk is a tough guy, Spock is a smart guy, the rest are identifiably quirky in a Syd Field kind of way, and everybody who aspires to be above the title in their next movie is sexy. (more…)

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Tags: JJ Abrams, Kirk, review, spock, star trek
Posted May 11th 2009 at 12:03 pm in Reviews | 1315582 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mlong/2009/05/11/review-star-trek-is-slick-fun%e2%80%94not-that-there%e2%80%99s-anything-wrong-with-that/Review%3A+%27Star+Trek%27+is+Slick+Fun+-+Nothing+Wrong+With+That2009-05-11+19%3A03%3A28Mike+Long

Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” passes the all-important summer movie “Soylent Green Test.”  What do we ask of our cinema gods from May to September? The same thing Edward G. Robinson’s Sol Roth wanted at the end of his life, nothing taxing, nothing challenging – just a pleasant, easy on the eyes diversion from our punishing everyday reality. It’s summer dammit, and the living’s s’posed to be easy. A celluloid fine line must be walked between insuring we’re never bored and not forcing us to think. And so, just like the melodic, faraway *ting* of a baseball hit off an aluminum bat, “Wolverine” hits that summer sweet spot.

Unlike “The Dark Knight,” which used allegory and theme to richen its story and characters, the first two X-Men movies (haven’t seen 3) were unduly burdened by political subtext. At no time did either achieve the most important moment in a superhero film – at no time did they soar. It’s not hard to figure out why. How do you accomplish lift-off weighed down by a blinding nuance which won’t allow an all-out rumble between good and evil? “Wolverine” never soars either, but it’s not a superhero film, it’s a genre flick; a satisfying, old-fashioned revenger, a B-movie whose characters just happen to possess extraordinary powers. (more…)

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Tags: Charles Bronson, hugh jackman, Liev Schreiber, review, Wolverine
Posted May 1st 2009 at 12:01 am in Featured Story, Reviews | 1231502 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/05/01/review-x-men-origins-wolverine/Review%3A+X-Men+Origins%3A+Wolverine2009-05-01+07%3A01%3A38John+Nolte

Review: Observe and Report

Seth Rogen’s appeal baffles me, at least as a leading man in romantic comedies, albeit raunchy ones. There’s nothing warm about the guy and no matter how sincere he tries to be an undercurrent of sullen hostility never leaves his voice. Rogen may look like a cute little teddy bear, but there’s nothing cuddly about him. There’s talent there to be sure, and he’s watchable enough, but connecting and rooting for his characters never comes easy, if at all.

No matter how crude or wild things got, Adam Sandler, Chevy Chase, John Candy, John Belushi, and Bill Murray have all managed to capture our sympathy in a single scene. Rogen lacks that gift, which makes him the perfect choice to play a deluded, territorial mall cop in “Observe and Report.”

Ronnie (Rogen) wants to be a hero and leader of men, and he’ll be damned if he’ll let anything get in the way, including his own limitations and station in life. Overweight, not terribly bright and suffering from psychological problems serious enough to require medication, Ronnie’s positioned himself as the Supercop of the Forest Ridge Mall, and with a team of three other mall cops made up of overweight twins and the sycophant Dennis (Michael Pena - finally breaking out of the sensitive-Hispanic typecasting ghetto), skateboarders, suspicious Middle Easterners and anyone foolish enough to make Ronnie’s day had best beware this Hall Monitor from Hell. (more…)

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Tags: "Observe and Report", adam sandler, anna faris, michael pena, review
Posted Apr 11th 2009 at 9:59 am in Reviews | 103790One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2009/04/11/review-observe-and-report/Review%3A+Observe+and+Report2009-04-11+16%3A59%3A32John+Nolte

Sunday Matinee: Les Miserables

Sunday matinee will be a weekly post focusing on an individual Broadway show.  I’ll discuss some of its history, trivia and little-known anecdotes as well as analyze the political, social or cultural ramifications of the piece.  In fact, let me start with a little-known theatre fact:  Did you ever wonder why Saturday matinees on Broadway are at 2:00 and Sunday matinees are at 3:00?  My understanding is that years ago, the Sunday matinee was scheduled for 3:00 so the actors would have time to go to a late church service on Sunday morning.  Because of the late hour of the prior night’s performance, actors tend to sleep in rather late on Sunday mornings.  The Noon Mass is sometimes the only option for church and then a nice lunch after church would have made a 1:30 call way too tight.  I wonder how many actors on Broadway these days take advantage of that schedule. (more…)

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Tags: broadway, Les Mis, Les Miserables, review, Stage Right
Posted Feb 8th 2009 at 7:27 am in Politics, Reviews | 4274632 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/sright/2009/02/08/sunday-matinee-les-miserables/Sunday+Matinee%3A+Les+Miserables2009-02-08+15%3A27%3A15Stage+Right